I'm Sorry
by Ghostwriter
Summary: When Stefan apologized to Damon, he didn't expect his brother to reveal that he knew his darkest secret.


I'M SORRY

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Follow up to "Snoop Revelations" and takes place during "Rose". Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW.

Damon put his drink down and began to walk out. He was tired and honestly just wanted to go to sleep.

"Hey," Stefan said. He wasn't sure if his brother would stick around for what he wanted to say, but he was going to say it anyway.

"What?" Damon asked, turning around. What could he **possibly** want now?

"I'm sorry," Stefan said.

"About what?" Damon wondered. What on Earth was he talking about? Sorry about what? He hadn't done anything.

"For being the guy who made you turn a hundred forty-five years ago," Stefan replied. _I never should've done it. I should've just let him make his own choice_, he thought to himself.

"Enough, Stef. It's late. No need to rehash that," Damon responded. _Why is he doing this? I just helped him save his girlfriend. Shouldn't that give me a pass from his emo shtick?_ he wondered. Besides, as far as he was concerned, it was over and done with, which meant that it was a moot point. With that, he started to walk out of the room.

"Well, you know what? I've never said it out loud. I guess I just need to say it and you need to hear it," Stefan told him. _Come on, Damon. Don't push me away. Just let me say it_, he thought. He knew that his brother didn't really care for the mushy moments, but this was important. "I'm sorry. What I did was selfish. I didn't want to be alone," he continued. And it was true. He had been afraid to spend the rest of his eternity without the one person who had always had his back. And okay, so they fought like cats and dogs and Damon had promised him an eternity of misery and pain, but he knew that he wouldn't let anyone else hurt him. And Stefan could live with that. Once more, Damon turned around, not really believing what he was hearing. He didn't want to be alone? Why couldn't he have just said that? If he had told him what he was feeling, he would've turned voluntarily. Maybe. He wasn't too sure to be honest. "Guess I just needed my brother," the younger vampire confessed. _There. He may dismiss what I said, but at least I said it_, he thought to himself. With that, he started to leave the foyer.

"I'm sorry too," Damon stated, causing his brother to turn around.

"For what?" Stefan wondered in genuine confusion. What could Damon have to be sorry about? Everything had been **his** fault; his brother had done nothing wrong.

"For not protecting you…when we were human," Damon replied.

"What, you mean Katherine? We were both compelled. Father didn't think to vervain either of us until I went to him to plead her case," Stefan responded, echoing his brother's previous dismissive tone and he once more began to leave.

"No. I mean…from father," Damon corrected and Stefan froze. _He can't know about that! How could he?_ he wondered. He had always been so careful to hide it-to keep the secret. He hadn't wanted the man to retaliate after all.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Stefan lied and then started to leave. He didn't want to talk about this. However, the older Salvatore blurred so that he was standing in front of his brother. He wasn't going to walk away from this. This needed to be dealt with.

"I know, Stefan. I know what he did to you," Damon said.

"He didn't do anything to me. You don't know what you're talking about," Stefan insisted, his voice growing hard. Again, he tried to leave, but Damon grabbed his arm.

"You can't walk away from this, Stefan. We need to deal with it," he insisted.

"Deal with what? You thinking that our father was anything but a good man? Look, I know you didn't really get along with him, but-"

"'It was midnight when he came in. I knew what Father wanted, and I had no choice but to give it to him'," Damon interrupted, quoting what he had read. Stefan's jaw dropped and if he could've, he would've gone pale.

"You read my diary?" he asked, trying to quell his panic. "How could you do that?" he asked, breaking free. **Why** would he do it? What must he think of him now?

"I'm so sorry, Brother. If I had known-if I had had an **inkling** of what he was doing to you-I would've taken you away, I swear it," he said, stepping closer. Stefan shook his head, messing his hair up with his hands, a clear sign that he was upset.

"Nothing happened! You don't know what you're talking about," he insisted with a shake of his head. _No, no, no, no, no, no! I don't wanna talk about this!_ he screamed silently. He had spent the last century pretending that it had never happened, so why was his brother bringing it up now?

"Damn it, Stefan! It's in black and white in your diary! He was molesting you since you turned thirteen!" Damon exclaimed.

"NO!" Stefan shrieked. Before Damon knew what was happening, Stefan had slugged him. "It's a freaking lie! You don't know what you're talking about!" he shouted. The younger vampire went to hit his brother again, but his wrists were deftly caught.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey. It's okay, you're okay," he soothed, tightening his grip even as the younger vampire struggled to break free. However, even with the few sips of Elena's blood, Stefan wasn't strong enough to escape Damon's grasp. Finally, Stefan seemed to tire and he deflated, slumping his shoulders. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"He said not to. That you'd never believe me and even if you did, you'd hate me." At these words, Damon had to fight the growl that threatened to erupt from his throat.

"He was wrong. I would've believed you. I would've gotten you out."

"I just…I was afraid…"

"And when you went to go see him?"

"I could stick around if I agreed to a favor."

"Bastard."

"I got frightened and then-I murdered him." Stefan began to hang his head, but Damon gently grabbed his chin and lifted his head so that they were eye-to-eye.

"It was **not** murder. You were protecting yourself. You did nothing wrong. It was all him."

"But I-"

"No." Stefan desperately wrapped his arms around his brother and Damon returned the gesture, holding him tightly. "I'm sorry, little Brother. I'm so sorry. I never would've left you with him had I known. I would've taken you away. I swear it." And it was the truth. If he had known about it back then, he would've put a stop to it. He would've protected him. Damon continued to hold Stefan tightly, wishing he could take away the tears that he felt starting to soak his shirt.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE

They may be out of character at the end, but I figured this would be how they'd act in this situation as Stefan's basically spent over a century pretending that nothing had happened.


End file.
